Yto Barrada

b. 1971 in Paris (France); lives and works between Tanger and New York (USA)

Yto Barrada brings a deliberately non-Western modus operandi to bear on current geopolitical changes, postcolonial history and the local implications of globalisation. Her photographs, films, sculptures, installations and publications reflect a distinctive association of documentary strategies and a meditative approach to images.

Founder and director of the Cinematheque in Tangier, she has shown at Tate Modern (London), MoMA (New York), the Renaissance Society (Chicago), Witte de With (Rotterdam), the Haus der Kunst (Munich), the Centre Pompidou (Paris) and the Venice Biennale.

Works

La vie moderne

Plumber Assemblage, 2014

Yto Barrada’s work stems from thoughts about current geopolitical changes, postcolonial history and the local implications of globalisation. For the Biennale, Yto Barrada is showing two photo series. Plumber Assemblage shows some of the things that plumbers improvise out of pipes, washers and showerheads, while waiting for work in the Souk in Tangier. Lying somewhere between art and craft, sculpture and “bricolage”, these objects with neither function nor purpose demonstrate tremendous skill in a particular market economy.

La vie moderne

Oleander Summer Shed, 2009

The triptych Oleander Summer Shed homes in on sheds built as shelters in rural regions of Morocco. Recycled waste from the overspill of modernity (tyres) is combined with natural elements using traditional building methods.